4x4 Labs....Anyone? (1 Viewer)

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Thanks for the thread @FJBroBri

Starting to build up my LX450 and yesterday night, I almost placed an order for the 4x4Labs rear bumper. Reading through this thread, I went from buying - to not buying at beginning of the thread, to buying - in the middle of the thread, to let-me-shop-some-more by the end of it. From reading this thread and other ones about 4x4labs, looks like communication and lead time lag have been a persistent issue. I am looking to have my truck done and built in the next 4-6 weeks so best case, if I placed an order, the bumper would arrive towards end of my project. But I have learned not to count on best case scenarios, when doing custom work and/or projects :D

Right now, 4x4labs is the only vendor I can find that has a decent rear modular bumper under $1k. ARB will ship quick but is twice the money. IPOR will take 4-6 weeks but again twice of what I am willing to spend at this point.
 
Everyone buys Luke's bumpers for a reason. It's worth the wait!

Yes, I see stellar reviews except one thread about the build quality. Still investigating the bumpitoffroad product - it is a bit pricier (and shipping is a little more too compared to 4x4labs).

I just realized that the swing out arms needed to be welded on to the raw/basic bumper if they aren't already welded on from "factory" so the modularity is sort of limited in that sense - that is - if you buy the basic build then adding swing outs later is fab work, not just putting on a few bolts. At the price point of bumper with swing out + a tire carrier, I also have the ARB to consider. :cautious:
 
Yes, I see stellar reviews except one thread about the build quality. Still investigating the bumpitoffroad product - it is a bit pricier (and shipping is a little more too compared to 4x4labs).

I just realized that the swing out arms needed to be welded on to the raw/basic bumper if they aren't already welded on from "factory" so the modularity is sort of limited in that sense - that is - if you buy the basic build then adding swing outs later is fab work, not just putting on a few bolts. At the price point of bumper with swing out + a tire carrier, I also have the ARB to consider. :cautious:

If you're looking for an 80 series rear bumper, I have a brand new never installed ARB unit....
 
Thanks for the thread @FJBroBri

S I am looking to have my truck done and built in the next 4-6 weeks so best case, if I placed an order, the bumper would arrive towards end of my project. But I have learned not to count on best case scenarios, when doing custom work and/or projects :D

Right now, 4x4labs is the only vendor I can find that has a decent rear modular bumper under $1k. ARB will ship quick but is twice the money. IPOR will take 4-6 weeks but again twice of what I am willing to spend at this point.

4-6 weeks is a very short time to order parts, receive them, and then install them all. This is assuming you have more than just a rear bumper that you are needing. I would say it's even an unfeasible time frame if you are looking to have product built for you and shipped. A company like Slee probably has enough stock to get you in business within a week, but they also aren't building stuff to order.
 
4-6 weeks is a very short time to order parts, receive them, and then install them all. This is assuming you have more than just a rear bumper that you are needing. I would say it's even an unfeasible time frame if you are looking to have product built for you and shipped. A company like Slee probably has enough stock to get you in business within a week, but they also aren't building stuff to order.

This would be my first Land Cruiser build of any generation but I have had a ‘85 22re pickup and Samurai built from pretty much scratch - transmission, t-case, drivetrain, lockers, armor - the works and I cannot recall having to wait for any part for 4-6 weeks. Maybe a week, tops for some small parts but then I did not order anything from small/custom shops (unless you count Marlin/LROR as small). That said, I am in no hurry to get a rear bumper so I can wait :)
 
A LC is different than a mini truck. It is less popular when it comes to companies making stuff for them.
 
Reading this has me at odds. I had the first LX450 rear bumper from Luke. Of course, I lived a few hours away from him so shipping wasn't involved. There was a lot of trial fitting due to the extra body cladding on my Lexus. Back then, it was just Luke and I believe just one or two more employees. Time was slow and responses were slow, but like anything else, I knew what I wanted and was willing to wait for it. It seems that as small businesses grow, sometimes there are growing pains in all aspects of their business. I know that I have seen this in a lot of the smaller shops in the past 15 years.
In the end, I loved my bumper. It took probably a month and a half from start to finish. I have since sold that vehicle and now with another LX450, I am considering them again. Will I go with a 4x4 labs again, not sure as I am no longer 2 hours away, but more like 14 hours away. There are a lot of choices out there, find what best suits you and go with it. Sorry for my rambling, been a long night/early morning.
 
The IPOR bumper page lists lots of accessories as "4x4 labs design". Does this mean the IPOR bumper is now a 4x4labs clone? Or, they just changed the spindle/accessory design to accept 4x4labs parts/accessories? I am more interested in comparing the build/clearance of the base bumper itself.
 
I bought 2 bumpers from luke, one for a 77 fj40 and another for a 69 fj40. Did they take long yes, are they worth the wait yes. I plan on ordering from him again. He makes a great custom product.
 
I'm welding up my 100 series rear kit now, and I can attest to the quality as well. Having come from designing on the fly with my previous bumper, it is really nice to have everything fit together with just minor adjustments.
 
If you want another option check out Avid Offroad's 80 series bumper set up. I ordered and just installed on my 80 series. Love it, great quality and a fantastic price point.
 
I purchased the 4x4 Labs bumper (no swing outs) several years back as a DIY weld kit. It's been a great bumper and held up to a side hit when this car ran the red light. The collision spun me around 180 deg.

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Can't find many 4x4labs front bumper build threads for the 100s. We started welding/installing the kit last night and are very unhappy with the quality and fitment of the kit. So far, the front skid plate does not reach the bottom crossmember and the side wings are going to take some serious modification if I want them to line up with the body lines and not have an inch of gap between bumper and body. Also extremely disappointed there are no instructions and Labs has not taken the time to at least do a build thread.

So far, it's a PITA. I have always been a fan of the Labs bumpers I have seen on the 80s in my club and could not wait to have one of my own. I'm wondering if quality has gone down over the last year or so. I'm really wishing I had gone with Slee at this point.
 
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Can't find many 4x4labs front bumper build threads for the 100s. We started welding/installing the kit last night and are very unhappy with the quality and fitment of the kit. So far, the front skid plate does not reach the bottom crossmember and the side wings are going to take some serious modification if I want them to line up with the body lines and not have an inch of gap between bumper and body. Also extremely disappointed there are no instructions and Labs has not taken the time to at least do a build thread.

So far, it's a PINA. I have always been a fan of the Labs bumpers I have seen on the 80s in my club and could not wait to have one of my own. I'm wondering if quality has gone down over the last year or so. I'm really wishing I had gone with Slee at this point.
I'm working on the front bumper currently (things are about to get tacked together, and then started on the wings).. I really haven't had much fitment issues yet, however the front OEM brackets on the frame (the ones that the horizontal bolts connect to) have a lot to do with the crossmember lining up well. Mine are completely tweaked because of a few front end bumps, so I had to straighten them out quite a bit to get things to line up. Also, make sure that the plate that connects to the front diff guard is bolted on loosely, and then pressure things into place from the top/forward.

I'll take some photos of mine and perhaps start a thread here, as I also noticed nobody has really done a detailed writeup on it yet.
 
We finally got it on, but it was not fun. There was no way to get the wings to line up with the top of the winch housing, so we had to drop them down and cut off the excess. Had we lined the wings up with the lines of the winch housing, there would have been over a 1" gap between the bumper and the lines of the truck.

To get the wings under the grill, headlights, and fender required LOTS of trimming. Lots of cutting, grinding, and trial and error.

In addition, we had to fabricate an extension plate to get the bottom of the skid plate to bolt to the lower crossmember. There was just no way that skidplate was going to reach the crossmember with the winch mount plate installed.

The whole process would have been easier from the beginning had Labs provided instructions/guidance or some YouTube videos. While I'm sure they're great guys, it does leave a bad taste in your mouth, when things aren't lining up and you're having to figure it out on your own. Had everything lined up properly, then I'm sure assembly would have been more straightforward. To offer a product that requires assembly and not provide instructions, is either laziness or arrogance in my opinion.

Also, I say "we", but @AJR did the lion share of the work and ALL of the welding. In the end, he did a great job and I am happy with the results despite the initial setbacks.

Now I'm waiting on the paint to cure. Looking forward to getting it back on the truck later this week.

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Looks great! I see you had to shave off a bit of the brackets where the main wings attached.. everything else work out as planned?
 

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